5439

There are three homes of the same design in the Lakewood Balmoral area. The first is at 5313 and another is located at 5413. This home is the third. Each has been altered or restored in varying degrees. These homes were built between 1903 and 1905, with the permit for this one being issue in 1904 to John Lewis Cochran with Boostrom R. Olsen named as builder. The estimated cost of construction was $4,000. The style of construction is Eclectic with elements of Dutch Colonial. The exterior of the original home was narrow board siding for the first floor and cedar shingles above. The roof would have been singled. On the second floor, a dormer of two large windows and two small ones divided by a bracket, create a strong symmetry. This is reinforced by the design of the roof and the third floor dormers.

The porch features Ionic Columns and is screened in as it would have orininally been in the summer. The porch railing is original and square balusters reflect the simplification of design and the influence of the Arts Crafts Movement of the early part of this century.

In the entrance hall, the original staircase features the same simple design of balusters. Elsewhere in the home, oak woodwork includes the egg and dart molding as well as crown moldings on the doorways and windows.

The living room features a beautiful antique replacement mantel and original hearth tile for what was once a gas fireplace.

The dining room, with its beamed ceilings in natural oak, is quite large. It opens through French doors to the den and kitchen area. On either side of these doors are two small windows which are an indication that the house ended at the dining room at one time.

The kitchen was redesigned and remodeled by the current owner. Of special interest is the beautiful Craftsman style corner bench.

As you reach the top of the staircase, you are standing in a rather unusual hallway with four doorways placed at 45 degree angles to the center. A master bedroom suite has been created from two of the rooms with a new connection between them. The third room has been made into a large bathroom. Closet space has been added and relocated to make it more useful.

A trip to the third floor is a special treat. It reveals one of the more surprising rooms on the tour - an attic hideaway with dark stained beadboard siding and a working fireplace. Note the Craftsman design of the newel post and railing. As you return to the street, look back at the façade with the knowledge of what is behind those two dormers.